fender1

I am down to three and have stayed there. I have had as many as 9 at one time but found I spent more time maintaining and tinkering that riding. I have had very good luck selling on FB Marketplace if you re on that platform and as a second, local CL. I can say the FB stuff seems to move much more quickly than the listings on CL with fewer "tire kicker" inquiries.

Barrettscv 

I expect half of the bikes I sell will show a some profit and the rest will show a loss. I've had some bikes that I've double my money on and some bikes that I gave away. I do enjoy my hobbies more if I can recoup my money easily.

J.Higgins 

Agreed. I'd like to pretend that my bike hobby is at least self-supporting. My annual cycling expenses exceed what I take in, but not by a whole lot. My cycling budget is hemorrhaging a trickle of cash every month, but selling a few bikes here and there takes the sting out of it.

iab

I think it is pretty obvious not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but it ends there. Making money as a factor of pleasure is odd to me. I don't go on vacation to come out ahead financially. As the old saying goes, I work to live ...

Kilroy1988 

Replace the word "making" with "maintaining" and I think you get to the crux of what the others are saying... I like to buy bicycles that I know I'll be able to sell down the road when I'm interested in trying something new, which can support the new purchase without putting me much more in the hole. I think most would agree that isn't much to ask if you buy and sell wisely.

As for me, I have eight bicycles right now, half of which are ready to ride. I plan to be down to four before next summer and have them all in working order (three of those being among the current projects).

-Gregory

Barrettscv 

Thank you, the perfect summary. I hope opinions such as yours can be expressed without the absolute correctness of the opinion being challenged by the C&V police.

jdawginsc 

Unfortunately what I have amassed probably will not return the outlay. And now that I have turned my addiction to something positive (making bikes for students as an incentive to work hard), I know that it’s just a hobby.

...might part with a few items I don’t see myself using, but probably never going to get into the buy and sell aspect of bike amassing...

iab

I know very well I'm in the minority with my view, and will be challenged by the C&V police.. I have a budget to spend, whether it be for a cheeseburger, or a bike. In many cases, I have maintained as you wrote with bikes. Never once have I maintained with cheeseburgers. In both cases, my pleasure would not be any less or more, even if the financial maintenance was reversed.

So I will continue to spend within my means. Damn the consequences.

Kilroy1988 

Well, there's no arguing with that... I spend far more on traveling and books than I do on bicycles or any other hobby that I can attempt to retain capital with... And my taste for 1950s British cycling has left me paying a premium for shipping costs from the UK lately. I want to say I've spent more than $500 shipping less than $2,000 of stuff in the past year or so. Certainly won't be getting that back any time soon, and I have no qualms!

-Gregory

J.Higgins 

I like threads like this. Thank you, Barrettscv !

Buying and selling bikes on CL is like a game. No, its rather like fishing. An enjoyable hobby in which you catch and release fish. Most fish are average and fun to catch, but once in a while Jeremy Wade steps in and you catch a river monster! I'm rarely a braggard about myself, but I love to brag about my awesome CL deals, and I could easily go on and on. DON'T GET ME STARTED!

I enjoy meeting most CL people and a few have even become genuine friends. This happens because every deal passes through my personal "filter" before it actually happens. Through the tone of emails and phone calls, it becomes apparent if the buyer or seller is good people or a genuine dink.

Germany_chris

I have a couple gear driven hobbies that seem to draw collectors. I’ve never been a collector I don’t understand that need/drive just like I don’t understand the need to know what year my bike boom full production bike is. For the minority of us that don’t have this gene these threads are always interesting.

Barrettscv 

To help you understand an opposing opinion, I'll add some granularity: I'm not trying to get compensation for my time, I'm only interested in recouping a resource.

Pompiere

To recoup any of my bike investments, I would actually have to sell something. I just try to reduce the cash outlays by buying cheap bikes that have good parts. If a $10 bike has a new set of tires or some other part that I have been wanting, then I'll swap out the stuff I want and donate the bike.

iab

Michael, I fully understand the opposing opinion. It is the conventional wisdom. My hope is that if you don't recoup a resource it does not cause stress, anxiety or any sort of hardship. Those should be entirely foreign to the concept of a hobby.

Just want more Zen in C&V. It's not a contest.

jamesdak 

LOL, if i tracked money spent vs money received on my bike buys and sales it would probably stop my playing in this world. I enjoy getting different bikes, I enjoy fixing them up, I enjoy riding them, I enjoy the smile on the face of a new owner when i sell one, I enjoy. It's not about the money for me, fortunately.

OldsCOOL

It’s more than a hobby, it is a passion. Desire finds a way. It was 10 years ago when my only bike was an ‘85 Trek 460 and seeing a ‘79/80 Moto Super Mirage for 60$ on CL. I had to have it. Now? I run a bike service out of a vintage shop in the backyard, tuning, refurbing, building and restoring. I will work on anything minus hydraulic brakes.

My two bikes from 10yrs ago? Long gone but replaced with a fleet of classic racers dating back to 1898.

bark_eater 

I've started realize that time is the finite resource. The last couple of years of bike accumulation has been fun, but I am not going to ever realy ride all these bikes, much less restore them to the image in my mind as I threw them on the pile. Roughly 30% of the bikes I have would make the first cut based on personal interest or value. The rest came to me for under $30 or free. These are the ones that will get chopped up for parts, or taken to the Co-op. There are a bunch in here that might be worth tuning up and selling as $100 riders, but only if I feel like I have the extra time to pay my self minimum wage. At this point I need to apply this to all of my accumulated possessions and collections.

repechage

I owned a '64 Monza. Rebuilt the motor and most everything else in the middle 70's. The problems for that engine were two things, the intake was offset so, one cylinder ran rich and the other end lean on each bank. Partially addressed with the '66 Corsa, with two carbs per bank. The other was the exhaust extensions from the head were D shaped to clear the push rod tubes... no matter how much you forced in, only so much could escape. I ran equal length headers which helped, instead of the cast iron exhaust manifolds that just restricted flow even more.

I do pass a '63 convertible every day sitting in a driveway on the way to work... Nah, single cylinder brake system was also, silly.

RobbieTunes

Unless you are salaried. It’s the newest exploitation arena.
Not universal, but as real leadership disappears and “management” is considered a replacement, it’s what’s for breakfast.

RobbieTunes

I’m not sure it’s a resource. More of a product in markets that change with context.
You need to sell product in one context to offset/recoup your investment when it was another context.
The closer context you can find to yours when the product was acquired, more likely it is that you recoup accurately.

Forget the initial investment.
Forget the derivative enjoyment and fulfillment.

Seek the proper context and therefore the satisfaction, be it $ or inner warmth, even for a fleeting moment.
It happens, both ways, but if your expectations are tempered by the proper contextual parameters, you will worry less about it.

Believe me, sometimes giving stuff away has a far greater profit margin.

In fact, I’m pretty sure I bought some of the same parts from you, twice.
I doubt I needed them either time. You think it was about the parts?

xiaoman1 

Understand about the Vair much underappreciated much like the TRI-A....missed the marketing hype of the I.M.

https://imgur.com/gallery/D6KVa/comment/252828982/1

If you didn't like Turbos...maybe this would solve the issue.

Not mine but I have had both variants....no T-lag with Webers, but no whoosh and jolt either!
Buy what you like, cheeseburger or salad....if that makes you happy the "investment" and your enjoyment are all that counts, in the end, remember you can't take it with you and as others have said, sometimes giving is better than receiving.
Best, Ben

RobbieTunes

As I await the lightning bolt....” They’re just bikes.”
Not all, and not to all people, wherein lies the rub.
Inside that rub are varying truths to varying people.
Find them. Brazen Dropouts, perhaps?

The last thing on my mind when purchasing a bike is the resale.
Given my results, it should have been farther forward.
I’ve had to rationalize more than I should, but not all truths are self-evident.

I have one bike yet to get, under an artistic, craft, human endeavor umbrella.
Because it represents more than just a bike. Every part of it talks to me.

I have another to get for utility: gravel.

The rest are just equipment I like for some reason or other.

The market is an alien endeavor, and I don’t like living there.
I have enjoyed visiting, though.

Not everyone lives in Watopia, or Belgratzia.

Barrettscv 

Every bike is different, I certainly wouldn't try the same ownership pattern with every bike.

Most bikes I keep for several years and put more than 1000 miles on after doing a full overhaul. One thing that is not in dispute, my bikes are in excellent operational and aesthetic condition and ready to ride a century. A few bikes I purchased, I did minor repairs, I didn't especially like the fit or riding quality and was happy to recoup my money. Other bikes are in the collection for a very specific reason and intended use.

Money is never primary, but I don't enjoy reckless decisions of any kind. Even when I descend at 45 mph, I'm fully aware of my decisions and the laws of physics.

RobbieTunes

Hmmm, maybe I need one....

RobbieTunes

And I’ve paid to see that, my friend!

What you need is a guy like yourself.
Not gonna happen. Special mold there, Mike.